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A new report by the Greater Boston Research Advisory Group (GBRAG) at UMass Boston, released last Wednesday, provides disturbing details about what we can expect in the not-too-distant future. The report, as described by WBUR, considers 101 towns and…

Discrimination. Harassment. Bullying. Ostracism.

These are some of the experiences our LGBTQ children frequently endure.Discrimination. Harassment. Bullying. Ostracism.

These are some of the experiences our LGBTQ children frequently endure.

This week’s attack in Uvalde, Texas was the 199th mass shooting of 2022. That averages 10 such attacks a week, according to Gun Violence Archive, an independent data organization. The Archive defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, excluding the shooter. In Uvalde, 19 children and two adults were killed, the deadliest incident so far this year. It should be noted that other groups, such as …

How are you planning to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month? If you are a white American, you probably have not given it much thought. Yet, just as Black History Month has raised the consciousness and understanding of those who are not part of the African American community, so does AAPI Month offer an opportunity to grow in appreciation and respect for the multiculturalism that defines our country.

Two memories came to mind immediately when the leaked Supreme Court decision about Roe v. Wade hit the news. One was of a story a friend told of an abortion she had in college in the late 1960s in Boston. She was picked up in a car, blindfolded, and taken to a basement where she could hear rats scurrying about. When the procedure was over, she was returned to her dormitory. She was frightened beyond words and thought she might die, either in that dank, cold basement or from some infection afterwards. Nonetheless, she felt this was her best option. She and her boyfriend were not yet ready to marry – they would a year or so later – and they had plans to enter the Peace Corps for two years once they did.

President Biden, as part of his effort to reach zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, has set a goal of 50% electric vehicle (EVs) sales by 2030. To reach this level of EVs will be a giant leap from last year, when electric vehicles represented only 3% of US new auto sales, but we already see the trend moving upward.

It’s only the middle of spring, but not too early to be concerned about the midterm elections in November. We’ve written before about the importance of voting in our local elections for mayors and city council members, as well as school board members and state legislators, because those elected officials determine significant policies that affect our families and our everyday lives.

Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed last week as an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court. She will be the first African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and her confirmation in the Senate was presided over by the first African American – male or female – vice president of the United States.

The working definition of “literacy” is the ability to read and write. We decided to do a short experiment. Just for an hour or two, we imagined that we couldn’t read. Initially, we were not prepared for how reading is a part of almost every minute of our lives. What would be the big deal, we thought, to not read for a couple of hours?

A recent Economist/YouGov poll surveyed 1,500 American adults on their trust in specific news organizations and media personalities, and where they consume information. The Weather Channel is the most trusted outlet by both Republicans and Democrats (52%). The next three most-trusted media organizations are PBS - 41%, BBC - 39%, and The Wall Street Journal - 37%.

Since the inception of Leading Ladies, humane immigration policies have been among our priorities. Because of a zero tolerance policy during the last presidential administration, thousands of children were separated from their parents at our southern border. Hundreds have since been reunited, but far from all.

With the horrifying war in Ukraine rightfully riveting our attention, a bipartisan action last week remained relatively under the radar. On March 15, President Biden signed into law the 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act after approval by both houses of Congress...

Who can forget the popular advertising slogan, “You’ve come a long way, baby?” The phrase was the 1968 genius creation of a man, advertising whiz Pat Martin, who was tasked with marketing the first cigarette developed exclusively for women. The ads featured tall models in pants suits seemingly emboldened by the new Virginia Slims…

Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman was suspended two weeks ago as chair of the department of psychiatry at Columbia University, asked to resign as the executive director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and fired as psychiatrist-in-chief at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

A recent trip to Berlin included a historical tour of the city. Since Germany has an impressive and extensive record of reckoning with its past, the tour not surprisingly covered the underground memorial to the 1933 book burning in Bebelplatz, a beautiful and notable center of cultural activity. On May 10, 1933, members of the Nazi German Student Union organized burnings throughout the country of important works of world literature they deemed dangerous. Works by Thomas Mann, Erich Kästner, Stefan Zweig, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, and Kurt Tucholsky were among those destroyed in Berlin. Many of the authors were Jewish, and for that reason alone, their books were considered unworthy. In fact, Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Joseph Goebbels pronounced that day in Bebelplatz that “the era of extreme Jewish intellectualism is now at an end.”

President Biden’s administration last week expressed again its commitment to fighting the environmental hazards that disproportionately affect Blacks, Latinos, and other people of color in this country. However, the president and his team are reframing the problem as one that affects poor communities, rather than people of color. In other words, race is being taken out of the conversation.

February is Black History Month. Its roots are in Negro History Week, first sponsored in 1926 by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization founded by Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and the prominent minister Jesse E. Moorland to research and promote achievements by Black Americans and other people of African descent.

We all heard last week that Tom Brady is retiring. But there was another piece of football news that grabbed our attention, and we think it deserves much more of our attention.

The aisles in the supermarkets and CVS are full of seemingly endless brands of tampons and sanitary napkins. Our televisions blare ads with “tests” comparing the absorbency of the different products. For most of us, the biggest challenge has always been deciding which menstrual product to choose.

One of us has a son who lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their three-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with Covid last week, along with the rest of her class. Say goodbye to day care for another few days as Mom and Dad struggle to work from home, barred from even using the elevator to go outside from their sixth floor co-op with their active toddler. Day care teachers kindly provided online circle time and projects for the little ones. Try leaving a three-year-old alone to make binoculars out of paper towel tubes. Papa to the rescue!